Eric T. Brassil: Freeing the flow of State Department reports

By Frank Konkel

Oct 18, 2013

When they were locked in an old State Department IT platform, reports on 280 overseas posts — filled with information such as where to go for food and what not to do in a given country — were not doing Foreign Service officers or interagency employees any good.

Enter Eric Brassil.

His vision for innovation is why those now-updated reports are the most widely tapped resource on Diplopedia, the department's internal wiki used by 60,000 employees.

The 2013 Rising Stars

"Those reports were supposed to be updated annually because that crucial and essential information can change so quickly," Brassil said. "But on the old platform, it was stagnant and not being used anymore. Now it has new life."

Brassil wears several hats for State and is most proud of the work he does that directly affects department personnel around the world. As deputy lead for Diplopedia, he is always looking for new ways for State employees to create and share useful content. He is also the principal adviser on IT needs for State's Bureau of Information Resource Management, which serves 900 office management specialists, and he is the engagement coordinator in the bureau's Office of eDiplomacy, where he promotes the adoption of online collaborative tools and other programs.

On any given day, he might oversee training for thousands of users or brief senior officials. In his two short years at State, he has earned high acclaim from superiors and colleagues.

"Eric Brassil has the maturity of vision and capacity to lead of an employee high above his present position," said Robert Watts, senior engagement adviser in the Office of eDiplomacy. "With only a few years of experience in the Foreign Service, he shows great dedication, energy and initiative."